Blade wear intensity of a centrifugal pump based on an improved four-way coupling method

To accurately study the effect of particle density on the wear characteristics of centrifugal pumps, improvements have been made to the four-way coupling method. This paper first introduces the enhancement strategy for the four-way coupling method, focusing on the turbulence dissipation near the wall and the reconstruction of the velocity field. It then investigates the wear characteristics of the centrifugal pump wall and finally explores the interactions between particles. This study found that as particle density increases, the wear on the centrifugal pump wall also increases accordingly. Wear primarily occurs on the pressure side of the blades, the rear cover plate of the impeller, and the walls of the volute. The collision intensity between particles and the blade wall is significantly affected by particle density with the collision intensity on the pressure side of the blade being higher than on the suction side. As the particle density increases, the sliding distance of particles on the blade wall gradually decreases. The collision intensity on both the rear cover plate of the impeller and the walls of the volute increases with the particle density with the impact on the volute wall being particularly significant. As the particle density rises, the pressure gradient force acting on the particles also increases, and there is a positive correlation between the force on the particles and wall wear. The energy loss resulting from particle collisions increases with particle density, but the rate of increase in energy loss slows down as the density continues to rise. The results provide a reference for further study of solid–liquid flow in the pump.